2018 #BRAVObiz Video: A Conversation on Gender Equality and Inclusion

Panelists

• Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, Vice President & Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Panama
• Katia Bouazza, Managing Director, Head of Latin America Global Banking, HSBC
• Patricia Menéndez-Cambó, Vice Chair, Greenberg Traurig
• Susan Segal, CEO & President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas (moderator)

While there’s been some progress on gender parity, the pace of change has not been fast enough, agreed a panel of female leaders at the 2018 Council of the Americas Symposium. One way to speed up the pace is to address implicit bias both in the workforce and at home, and to involve everyone. “Gender is not an issue just for women. Gender is an issue of development, gender is an issue of societies, gender is an issue of the world advancing faster and advancing further,” said Panamanian Vice President Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, who successfully pushed for a new law in Panama that requires women to fill at least 30 percent of board seats in public institutions. Having men buy into the importance of diversity is also a key element, said HSBC’s Katia Bouazza. “The worst thing that could happen right now is for men to retreat.”

Watch more videos of the Symposium.